


Office Romance

by csichick_2



Category: Law & Order
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 16:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3776035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/csichick_2/pseuds/csichick_2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack and Mike have a complicated relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Office Romance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inelegantly (Lir)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lir/gifts).



It’s late when Jack leaves his office, so he expects to be the last one there. When he notices a light on, he’s not surprised when he realizes it’s coming from Mike’s office. The younger lawyer reminds him of himself, right down to his ability to give his superiors headaches.

“You know it is okay to go home and sleep even if you’re in the middle of a case,” Jack says, sticking his head in Mike’s office.

Mike starts as he looks up from the file he’s reading clearly not expecting to be interrupted. “I will. In a couple hours.”

“It’s almost ten, Mike,” Jack points out. “The case will still be here in the morning.”

“And just as impossible,” Mike says with a sigh. “Unless I can find a way to get the confession back in, this case is fucked.”

Jack walks into Mike’s office and sits down at the other at his conference table. “Let me take a look. I have a lot of experience getting evidence through the back door after it’s been thrown out the front.”

“Thanks Jack,” Mike says gratefully. He’s not sure why his boss is still there so late – unless it’s out of habit – but he’s not about to turn down the help.

 

*****

Over the next few months, Jack giving Mike advice on his cases has become a bit of a ritual – but only late at night when they’re the only two left at the office. Mike supposes it’s to avoid any appearances of favoritism, especially since they still butt heads most of the rest of the time, but he doesn’t really think much of it.

Connie figured out their routine pretty quickly as she’s the only other person still working for the DA’s office that’s worked as closely with Jack, and has taken to teasing Mike whenever he uses a trial strategy that Jack clearly helped him with. 

Connie is also the reason that Mike starts looking at his late night meetings with Jack differently. One night when she left, she told Mike to enjoy his work date with Jack and sounded far too serious when she said it. Mike already knew about Jack’s reputation – anyone that’s been at the DA’s office long enough does – but the general consensus is that Jack stopped doing relationships when Claire Kincaid was killed. Not to mention that as far as Mike knows, Jack’s only ever dated women.

Mike knows that Jack picked up on the fact that he was jumpy that night, but thankfully didn’t call him on it as Mike was pretty sure he wouldn’t have been able to come up with a suitable lie on the spot.

Even though he intended to come up with a cover story, he’s still taken aback when Jack presses him on it a week later. “What are we doing, Jack?” he blurts out.

“Working ourselves into an early grave because apparently neither of us has a life,” Jack deadpans.

“They’re my cases, I have to be here,” Mike points out.

“Connie’s not here,” Jack counters. “Which means none of these cases hinge on getting this done tonight, otherwise she would be.”

“Why am I the only one you do this with, Jack?” Mike asks, trying to deflect against his workaholic tendencies.

“You’re only one here this late on a regular basis,” Jack responds with a smirk.

“So I’m your dirty little secret then,” Mike shoots back, wincing at how the words sound as soon as they leave his mouth.

“What’s going on, Mike?” Jack asks gently. “This didn’t seem to bother you until last week.”

“It’s… it’s nothing,” Mike says, suddenly feeling silly for putting so much stock into Connie’s comment.

“Clearly it’s not nothing or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“It’s just something Connie said…” Mike begins and then trails off.

Jack groans. “I told her to keep her mouth shut.”

“So she called this a work date to you too?” Mike queries.

“Not in those words exactly,” Jack responds. “Let’s just say I like spending time with people that challenge me intellectually and leave it at that.”

“I challenge you intellectually? Mike asks surprised. He’s always though of Jack as being in a league of his own, knowing more than everyone there.

“If you didn’t, I’d tell you what to do like everyone instead of helping you get there on your own.”

Mike raises an eyebrow. “You still spend plenty of time telling me what to do.”

“Well sometimes I need to save you from yourself,” Jack says simply. “One of the many ways you remind me of myself.”

“I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted,” Mike says carefully. That was not something he was expecting.

Jack laughs. “It’s definitely a compliment. More than once Adam has gleefully reminded me that every headache you give me is payback for one I’ve given him.”

“Wait, you talk to Adam Schiff about me?” Mike asks, surprised.

“Not just you, but yeah I do,” Jack replies. “There’s only so many people that have been where I am and I’m not about to complain to Nora or Arthur. Especially since Arthur once told me that I’d never sit in his chair.”

“Well you’re not exactly good at playing politics,” Mike points out. “Thank god for that though.”

“At least one person thinks so,” Jack says with a smile. “So are we good?”

“Yeah, we’re good,” Mike replies with a smile of his own.

*****

After that night, things went back to normal between the two of them, well mostly. Instead of just going over Mike’s cases, Jack would present some of his old cases to see how Mike would have approached. While they were on the same wavelength most of the time, occasionally they disagreed which lead to some good debates.

Eventually discussing cases late at night in Mike’s office became discussing cases over dinner. At first it was hole in the wall places near the office, but the restaurants started getting nicer over time. Mike and Jack never had another discussion over where they stood, but when they first dined at the Capital Grille – Jack’s treat – Mike started to think that it really did look like they were dating. And Mike was okay with that.


End file.
